Hot Topics:

Teachers, coaches use good working relationships to strengthen results

By BRIAN HALL, Staff writer

Updated:
12/07/2012 08:42:20 PM EST

Teachers and coaches both say the best way to maximize results is developing strong relationships.

Chambersburg Area Middle School North sixth-grade teacher Kristy Bankert meets with middle school literacy coach Cynthia Henry once per week to discuss ideas.

"I think what's happened is it's really purposeful planning," said Henry. "Teachers plan all the time. We know that, but we really focus on the particular concepts that she's thinking of doing and we think about the resources that would work well with that. We talk about how to make it specific to each class' needs."

It also trickles down to helping each student's specific needs.

"That's why we're such a great team because we can divide and conquer and help those individual students," said Bankert, an English Language Arts teacher. "We know what each person is going to say. Students are going to get the same answer from (Cindy) as they get from me.

"It really helps to sit down and plan every week. That is a definite added bonus to having a coach. That has really driven my instruction this year - just knowing I have that support and someone who's going to help me."

A literacy coach can even be an impromptu troubleshooter.

"I could be in the middle of core one and it didn't go as well as I wanted to, I can e-mail her," said Bankert. "I can tell her, 'It didn't go this way. What can I change?' She's always available to help."

The pair teamed up Thursday when they developed a prequel lesson to coincide with the reading of "Seedfolks" by Paul Fleischman.

Advertisement

It was seamless, which can be attributed the relationship cultivated between coach, teacher and the joint knowledge of students.

"She works closely with us," said Bankert. "She knows our students even better than we do sometimes because she sees the data behind it."

----------

Brian Hall can be reached at 262-4811 and bkhall@publicopinionnews.com, or follow him on Twitter @bkhallpo.